KEY POINTS:
As I relaxed in the cosy bar of Heidelberg's venerable Bier Bezel tavern, supping on a sustaining pint of weissbier, I had this image of Martin Luther sitting in the same rough-hewn wooden seat while taking a break from launching the Reformation.
It seemed a reasonable possibility because
the old brauhaus is right over the road from the Church of the Holy Ghost, where in 1518 Luther won over students at the ancient Heidelberg University, and only a few doors down from the former site of the Augustinian Cloister, where he triumphed in a crucial debate before his fellow monks.
And we do know that the great reformer enjoyed a beer. Many of his surviving letters include comments like "drank Wittenberg beer with my friends".
Indeed Pope Leo X initially dismissed him as "a drunken German" who "when sober will change his mind".
That seems a little unfair because, in between attacking the sale of papal indulgences, Luther also argued vigorously for moderation. "It is possible to tolerate a little elevation when a man takes a drink or two too much after working hard and when he is feeling low. This must be called a frolic. But to sit day and night, pouring it in and pouring it out again, is piggish." Well put.
Unfortunately my image of Luther having a victory pint after successfully persuading the students was rather shattered by the discovery that Bier Bezel only - only! - dates from 1762.
But there's a fair chance there would have been some sort of tavern on the site when Luther arrived for that pivotal debate so he may still have enjoyed a reviving ale thereabouts.
And, if he didn't, it was his loss because sitting down to quaff a cool white beer in a charming old tavern is a great way to relax after traipsing the streets of one of the most historic and charming cities in Europe.
Heidelberg, which sits on the River Neckar just above its meeting with the Rhine, may well be the oldest tourist destination in Europe.
The remains of the first known human visitor to Europe, 600,000-year-old Homo heildelbergensis, were found on the outskirts of the city in 1907 and now take pride of place in the University of Heidelberg's museum of geology and palaeontology.
Since that early tourist, who liked Heidelberg so much he stayed put, the area has also been beloved of Celts and Romans, Germans and French, Austrians and Americans. Indeed, it is often suggested that the reason Heidelberg was one of the few German cities not destroyed by bombing in World War II was because Allied leaders liked it so much and the city later became the headquarters of American Forces in Europe.
My own visit to Heidelberg was in the course of a cruise down the River Rhine on the Avalon Tapestry and for me too it was love at first sight.
It's everything you could want an ancient city to be: the majestic red ruin of Heidelberg Castle looking down from on high, the waters of the Neckar flowing gracefully through the middle of town and a city centre full of quaint old bridges and cobble-stoned alleyways, charming churches and university buildings, picturesque taverns and houses.
The castle is a wonderful place to wander around, offering fantastic views over the city and surrounding countryside.
It stills retains enough of the proud fortifications, luxurious palaces - one of which houses the largest wine barrel in the world, built in 1751, using the wood of 130 oak trees and with a 220,017-litre capacity - proud towers, triumphal archways, boastful coats of arms and beautiful gardens to indicate how impressive it must have been in its heyday.
In its 800-year history it was the base for countless kings and emperors - including the redoubtable Charlemagne, whose prowess earned him the title Charles the Great, and the hapless Friedrich V, called the Winter King because his reign lasted only one winter - many of whose statues are displayed on the facades of the palaces.
Down the centuries it has been praised by Luther, immortalised in verse by Goethe, eulogised by Mark Twain and painted by JMW Turner ... so what could I possibly add?
The city below is equally delightful. Wandering its old stone streets, you could - if you close your eyes to the tacky souvenir stalls - easily imagine that you had gone three centuries back in time.
Round every corner I half-expected to see rival lovers duelling with sabres, a cavalry troop riding past with armour jangling or a glittering coach clattering over the cobbles with a noblewoman looking disdainfully out the window.
Heidelberg's history obviously goes back a lot further than 300 years - its university, for instance, was founded in 1386 - but almost all the buildings in the old city were erected after it was sacked by Catholic armies in the 17th century.
So ferocious was the anti-Protestant onslaught that the Augustinian monastery, where Luther took such an important step on the path which led to the Reformation, was demolished and transformed into a town square with a statue of the Virgin Mary in the centre - "to symbolise the triumph of Catholicism", said our guide - though the outline of where the cloister once stood has since been marked with white bricks.
Fortunately the Church of the Holy Ghost, where Luther had his other triumph, did survive though the depredations of German Protestant iconoclasts and French Catholic looters mean its interior has been stripped bare.
Just across the road from the church is the only house to escape the French onslaught, the Haus zum Ritter.
It was built in 1592 as the home for a wealthy Huguenot cloth merchant and is today a luxury hotel.
It may well have escaped because despite the merchant's Protestant beliefs, its pink sandstone facade is guarded by a statue of St George and bears the motto, "Soli Deo Gloria".
And a few doors further down I discovered the grand old Bier Bezel and its superb weissbier.
This really was a delightful pub - so delightful that I bought one of its ceramic steins as a souvenir - and it seemed a pity that it wasn't one of Luther's drinking holes.
Indeed, as the weissbier slipped easily down, the tavern seemed to fill with the students of yesteryear, pounding their tankards on the benches and bursting into their drinking song:
"Drink! Drink! Drink!
"To eyes that are bright as stars when they're shining on me!
"Drink! Drink! Drink!
"To lips that are red and sweet as the fruit on the tree!"
Good idea. I think I'll have another.
Jim Eagles cruised down the Rhine as a guest of Air New Zealand and Avalon Waterways.
GETTING THERE:
Air New Zealand flies to Heathrow, London via both Los Angeles and Hong Kong and has connections to Europe via its Star Alliance partners. See www.airnewzealand.co.nz, call 0800 737 000 or visit an Air New Zealand Holidays Store.
CRUISING THE RHINE:
Avalon Waterways has eight-day Romantic Rhine river cruises, visiting some of Europe's most picturesque regions, from now until October. Cruises are available from Basel to Amsterdam or from Amsterdam to Basel, visiting the towns of Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Mainz, Coblenz and Cologne along the way. Built in 2006, Avalon Tapestry has a lounge and restaurant at its front, as well as an outside viewing deck. All meals onboard are included and wine is complimentary with dinner.
MORE INFORMATION:
See your licensed travel agent or visit www.avalonwaterways.co.nz.